The present invention relates to a specimen holder. In general, it concerns a device for protectively manipulating a film-like specimen to be analyzed. More particularly, it provides a molded plastic slide holder which can be transported, stacked, and nestled with other such holders.
In several different fields of technology, automated analysis of samples or specimens is of continuing interest. For example, in the medical or health care field various instruments for automated blood cell analysis, e.g., classification and counting, have been disclosed and marketed. Automated analytical instruments are also of current interest in the field of pollution analysis and control. In these, as well as other, technological fields, a variety of different automated instruments analyze a plurality of specimens each of which is generally in the form of a relatively thin film. For example, in automated differential blood cell analysis it is common practice to employ a specimen comprising a stained monolayer of blood cells on a glass microscope slide. U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,156, for example, discloses a method and apparatus particularly suitable for automated differential blood cell analysis.
A specimen holder which is suitable for use with an automated analytical instrument must, of course, hold the specimen in proper orientation or position for analysis within the particular instrument. In addition, it must permit the specimen to be transported or moved through the instrument, for example, from a sample input storage area through a scanning stage of the instrument and into a sample output storage area. During such transporting, as well as during any handling by a laboratory technician, it is usually important that the specimen be protected, for example, from scraping or abrasion from contact with other objects. In addition, it is desirable that specimens be in a form which permits their compact handling and storage. Thus, stackable and nestable forms of specimens offer certain advantages. It is also preferable that each of the various specimens be readily identifiable, to distinguish them one from another and to permit relating a particular specimen with its source.
Briefly, it has now been discovered according to the present invention that an improved specimen holder particularly suitable for use with automated instruments can be made by molding a suitable plastic material into the proper configuration as hereinafter described.